Split ends are your hair’s biggest enemy and are not to be taken lightly. They cause mane distress thanks to the outer layer of your strands wearing away, leading to dehydration and weakening on the inside. It’s tough to grow your hair long and strong when the ends are so frayed, but don’t lose hope. We give you a few effective ways to prevent split ends from taking over. Try these tips and split up with split ends for good!
1. Work Second Day Hair
We know better now than to shampoo our mane daily. Second day hair allows your scalp’s natural oils to nourish and repair your hair, leaving it stronger and smoother. Shampooing daily causes even more drying and fraying of your ends.
2. Shower Etiquette
When you do wash your hair, remember to shampoo only your scalp. Lather up at the top only and rinse off before conditioning just your ends and leave it on for a few minutes. It’s smart to use a wide-tooth comb in the shower while you have conditioner on to detangle and prevent snapping when your brush out towel dried hair.
Also read: Dryness, Hair Fall & Other Problems: Team POPxo’s Fab Solutions
3. Try A Leave-In Conditioner
Once you rinse out your conditioner in the shower, your locks have little protection against split ends. Try a leave-in conditioner on your strands for extra protection as you go about your day as well as during heat styling. Just apply a dime size amount through your mid-lengths and ends on damp hair using your fingers.
4. Are You Blow-Drying Right?
Also read: How To Dry Your Hair Without Heat And STILL Look Salon-Perfect!
Obviously naturally air-drying your hair is always the better option, but if you must blow-dry then make sure to always use the nozzle of your hair dryer and dry in a downward direction. This lowers the amount of intense heat applied directly on your hair. Do your best to avoid direct heat on your ends as much as possible, though.
5. Get Regular Snips
The best way to keep your locks devoid of any pesky split ends is by regular trims. That’s the biggest reason why trims are super important for growing out your hair well. Cutting them off is the only way to get rid of split ends as well as the best way to prevent them. Get a trim every 3 months to keep your hair at it’s healthiest, and even more often if you have dry, damaged locks.
6. Tie It Up Right!
Also read: 7 Things You Can Start Doing NOW To Prevent Hair Fall
None of us really give this much thought, but the type of hair tie you use makes a huge difference. Switch up your regular hair ties for gentler ones. Standard elastics are rough on the strands and cause breakage. Tight rubber bands that are rough on the edges easily cause breakage and split ends. Whether you pull your hair back often or just while working out, try softer rubber bands and ties to save your precious strands from evil split ends.
7. A Damage-Free Hair Diet
However much we love colouring, straightening, perming and all those other chemical treatments, we gotta accept the harsh fact that they will cause trauma and split ends. Try and limit these treatments as much as possible. Do not chemically straighten and colour your hair as well. Pick one and try doing it as infrequently as possible – maybe once a year or something. When you do chemically treat your mane, remember not to shampoo your hair for a few days after as it is the most porous then and more likely to split or break.
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